{"id":92745,"date":"2019-04-29T21:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-04-29T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/news\/2019\/04\/hardware_review_retro-bit_tribute64_-_a_fine_n64_controller_and_perfect_for_smash_on_switch"},"modified":"2019-04-29T21:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-04-29T21:00:00","slug":"hardware-review-retro-bit-tribute64-a-fine-n64-controller-and-perfect-for-smash-on-switch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2019\/04\/29\/hardware-review-retro-bit-tribute64-a-fine-n64-controller-and-perfect-for-smash-on-switch\/","title":{"rendered":"Hardware Review: Retro-Bit Tribute64 &#8211; A Fine N64 Controller, And Perfect For Smash On Switch"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><a href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/2859999d9317d\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/2859999d9317d\/small.jpg\" class=\"media_thumbnail\"><\/a><\/div>\n<figure class=\"picture strip\"><a title=\"IMG 9858.JPG\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/2859999d9317d\/img-9858.original.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/2859999d9317d\/img-9858.900x.jpg\" alt=\"IMG 9858.JPG\"><\/a><\/figure>\n<p>It&#8217;s fair to say that the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/news\/2016\/06\/hardware_classics_nintendo_64\">Nintendo 64<\/a> controller was a groundbreaking release. While it wasn&#8217;t the first games controller to showcase analogue input, it was the first to be shipped as standard with its host console and therefore became the first taste of this now-ubiquitous control method for many players. The N64 pad \u2013 along with its iconic three-pronged design \u2013 is instantly recognisable and it&#8217;s hard to imagine experiencing seminal titles like <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/n64\/super_mario_64\">Super Mario 64<\/a><\/strong>, <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/n64\/legend_of_zelda_ocarina_of_time\">Zelda: Ocarina of Time<\/a><\/strong> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/n64\/goldeneye_007\"><strong>GoldenEye 64<\/strong><\/a> without it; however, even the most dedicated N64 fan will admit that it&#8217;s far from perfect. The analogue stick, in particular, is prone to wearing out over time, and that means that <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/news\/2018\/02\/feature_getting_the_best_picture_out_of_your_nintendo_64_the_rgb_edition\">playing N64 in the modern era<\/a> can often be a frustrating affair. Finding pads that are in an acceptable state is becoming ever more difficult, and while third-party options are available, they tend to miss the mark in other areas.<\/p>\n<p>One pad that has long been lauded as the best control option for the N64 is the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/news\/2013\/09\/hardware_review_n64_hori_mini_pad\">Hori Mini Pad 64<\/a>, a fairly radical re-imagining of the original pad which was only released in Japan. It&#8217;s now worth a pretty penny online, putting it out of reach for many players. Thankfully, accessory maker Retro-Bit has solved this conundrum by producing the cannily-named Tribute64, a controller which takes inspiration from Hori&#8217;s effort but has the added bonus of being available in a form that makes it compatible with the Switch.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"gallery\">\n<div class=\"col\"><a title=\"IMG 9852.JPG\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/abfb53d86a4d3\/img-9852.original.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/abfb53d86a4d3\/img-9852.292x245.jpg\" width=\"292\" height=\"245\" alt=\"IMG 9852.JPG\"><\/a><a title=\"IMG 9853.JPG\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/56f35ec955dcb\/img-9853.original.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/56f35ec955dcb\/img-9853.292x245.jpg\" width=\"292\" height=\"245\" alt=\"IMG 9853.JPG\"><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"col\"><a title=\"IMG 9854.JPG\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/c805ea250542e\/img-9854.original.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/c805ea250542e\/img-9854.603x495.jpg\" width=\"603\" height=\"495\" alt=\"IMG 9854.JPG\"><\/a><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Available in &#8216;original port&#8217; and USB versions, the Tribute64 \u2013 like Hori&#8217;s pad \u2013 loses the three-pronged design that made the original N64 controller so eye-catching. Instead, it opts for a more compact two-prong shape which shifts the Z trigger to the top of the pad, next to the L and R shoulder buttons (there are actually two Z triggers, although they both naturally do the same thing). The D-Pad is placed slap-bang in the middle of the controller, which means it&#8217;s very hard to use for anything but moving around menu systems. Around the back, you&#8217;ll find the port for your Rumble Pak or memory card. This is present on the USB version of the pad too, although it&#8217;s just a hole with no actual connector present.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"left\">\n<p>The Analogue stick \u2013 which is a close match to the one seen on the GameCube pad \u2013 is fantastic to use<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The controversial placement of the D-Pad means you won&#8217;t be able to play games that use the D-Pad exclusively, like <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/n64\/mischief_makers\">Mischief Makers<\/a><\/strong>, <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/n64\/kirby_64_the_crystal_shards\">Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards<\/a><\/strong> and <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/n64\/tetrisphere\">Tetrisphere<\/a><\/strong>. So while the impact of the D-Pad&#8217;s placement is felt to a degree, it only impacts a handful of games \u2013 but if even one of those games is a personal favourite, you might struggle with this pad. It&#8217;s (just about) a worthwhile sacrifice in our eyes, as the Tribute64 is arguably a lot more comfortable to use than the original N64 controller.<\/p>\n<p>We&#8217;re pleased to report that Retro-Bit has solved the N64 pad&#8217;s biggest failing with the Tribute 64 controller. The analogue stick \u2013 which is a close match to the one seen on the GameCube pad \u2013 is <em>fantastic<\/em> to use. It doesn&#8217;t stand quite as proud as the wand on the original N64 pad but it has a larger dead zone (120 compared to the original&#8217;s 80) so it&#8217;s more precise. The face buttons feel a little spongy, but then again, so did the ones on the original N64 controller. The shoulder buttons and Z triggers are superb, and are easy to reach. To cap it all off, the pad comes with a 10-foot cable which will be more than long enough for most people&#8217;s living rooms (2.4Ghz and Bluetooth wireless versions are in the pipeline, according to Retro-Bit).<\/p>\n<aside class=\"gallery\">\n<div class=\"col\"><a title=\"IMG 9855.JPG\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/86cec4def94c0\/img-9855.original.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/86cec4def94c0\/img-9855.292x245.jpg\" width=\"292\" height=\"245\" alt=\"IMG 9855.JPG\"><\/a><a title=\"IMG 9856.JPG\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/5eb45b0a73865\/img-9856.original.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/5eb45b0a73865\/img-9856.292x245.jpg\" width=\"292\" height=\"245\" alt=\"IMG 9856.JPG\"><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"col\"><a title=\"IMG 9857.JPG\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/795d44e768bde\/img-9857.original.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/795d44e768bde\/img-9857.603x495.jpg\" width=\"603\" height=\"495\" alt=\"IMG 9857.JPG\"><\/a><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>While the original port version of the Tribute64 obviously only works with the N64 itself, the USB model is compatible with the Switch, PC \/ Steam, Mac and many other devices which accept USB controllers. Using the Tribute64 on Switch is a hit-and-miss affair, as it lacks a second analogue stick as well as other features, such as the ability to push down the analogue stick itself. For example, <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch\/dragons_dogma_dark_arisen\">Dragon&#8217;s Dogma: Dark Arisen<\/a><\/strong> is borderline unplayable as you can&#8217;t control the camera or sprint. However, depending on the game, you may find it to be an ideal interface; for <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch\/super_smash_bros_ultimate\">Super Smash Bros. Ultimate<\/a><\/strong>, its closeness to the GameCube pad makes it a great choice, so you&#8217;re looking for a controller to help improve your performance, this could be the dream ticket.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s a shame that Retro-Bit couldn&#8217;t have factored in the two ports into a single pad, because if you fancy using this with your Switch and your N64, you&#8217;ve effectively got to buy the same product twice. Still, at $25 for the N64 version and $30 for the USB edition, it&#8217;s not like these are unreasonably expensive products. If you&#8217;re in the market for some pads to replace your ageing N64 controllers then this is a no-brainer; you could get four of these for less than what many sellers are asking for a used Hori Mini Pad 64 on eBay these days. Or, if you&#8217;re a Switch owner looking for a new Smash Bros. go-to pad \u2013 or if you&#8217;re keen to get a decent interface option for your PC or Mac \u2013 then we&#8217;d recommend giving the USB-based model a try.<\/p>\n<p class=\"disclaimer\">Please note that some of the links on this page are affiliate links. If you click them and make a purchase we may receive a small percentage of the sale which helps support the site. Please read our <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/ftc-disclosure\">FTC Disclosure<\/a> for more information.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s fair to say that the Nintendo 64 controller was a groundbreaking release. While it wasn&#8217;t the first games controller to showcase analogue input, it was the first to be shipped as standard with its host console and therefore became the first taste of this now-ubiquitous control method for many players. The N64 pad \u2013 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-92745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nintendo-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92745","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=92745"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92745\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92745"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92745"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}